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This is a Photoshop. What do you guys think?
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Healey Fastback Concept
- Thread starter HealeyRick
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OP
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That's a good point. The real-life hardtops always seem to have a higher roof, probably for headroom, which makes them a bit ungainly. Things are a lot easier when you don't operate in the real world. I know these folks would never fit under that hardtop.
Michael Jennings
Freshman Member
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I'm short...... so all you tall folks are free to contact me to take your "uncomfortable/ head knocking" Healey fastbacks off your hands.
Bob_Spidell
Yoda
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It's a Healey, what could be wrong (excepting that monstrosity with pipes coming out of the front wing that shows up on BaT every couple years)? Overall shape is very pleasing, but my eye was drawn to the B pillar that doesn't align with the rear door gap, and I don't think the window would roll down very far.
Edit: The Auburn Cord wannabe, IIRC, is usually a denizen of Craig's List; it would probably get laughed off of BaT.
Edit: The Auburn Cord wannabe, IIRC, is usually a denizen of Craig's List; it would probably get laughed off of BaT.
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I like Photoshop very much. In conjunction with Adobe Bridge, I use it scores of times every month.
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I like this profile better:
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I definitely prefer the look of Rick's creation but agree that it would probably lack necessary headroom--which is likely why it looks good in the first place.
I am a big fan of hardtops and very rarely do I remove mine so I would go for a nicely done coupe in a minute. The few I have seen in the flesh had some issues when viewed from certain angles. The nicest I have ever seen was at Open Roads, done by a fellow who has since passed away--Healey Sports & Specialties I believe. Rather than being a fastback coupe It looked more like a hardtop with no seams,
I am a big fan of hardtops and very rarely do I remove mine so I would go for a nicely done coupe in a minute. The few I have seen in the flesh had some issues when viewed from certain angles. The nicest I have ever seen was at Open Roads, done by a fellow who has since passed away--Healey Sports & Specialties I believe. Rather than being a fastback coupe It looked more like a hardtop with no seams,
pkmh
Jedi Warrior
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Sorry, don't mean to be difficult here. There is something that just doesn't quite seem "perfect" with the proportions in that photo shop design (though cudos for the effort). I will say the roof design shown has potential and further "sketches for refinement" are definitely warranted (and I have a feeling professional auto designers in the real world do nothing but that, "all the time.")
I am going to pretend I am an auto designer just for the moment. As it is, in attempts to refine the roof design in my head, say, raise it just a bit, then it starts to remind me of a Jag E type. If I envision tapering the rear, it starts to remind me of a early mid 60's Vette. Ok then, maybe not tapering so much to a tapered point, maybe a little bit truncated. Then it reminds me of a Crossfire.
I think the design as Turney photo shows does look more appropriate given the style of the Healey as it was originally designed in the 50's (and carried over well into the 1960's). The hardtop design that came with the Healey during production still stands as true and aesthetically correct to me.
Again, just my opinion, the sloping roof line as Healey Rick's pic does have potential. But as you can see from the side profile, it has a very slightly 'heavy' with an elongated appearance. And the heavy look could be the result of the fender curve designs as they currently exist.
Maybe just adding some accents like what the Vette had or include subtle vent cutouts like the mustang fastbacks could make it more interesting. Otherwise, I tend to believe one should just start all over again, from scratch, at the drawing board. Saying that is a good thing, too, for I believe Donald Healey did a fine job with this car. It really needs no refinement.
I am going to pretend I am an auto designer just for the moment. As it is, in attempts to refine the roof design in my head, say, raise it just a bit, then it starts to remind me of a Jag E type. If I envision tapering the rear, it starts to remind me of a early mid 60's Vette. Ok then, maybe not tapering so much to a tapered point, maybe a little bit truncated. Then it reminds me of a Crossfire.
I think the design as Turney photo shows does look more appropriate given the style of the Healey as it was originally designed in the 50's (and carried over well into the 1960's). The hardtop design that came with the Healey during production still stands as true and aesthetically correct to me.
Again, just my opinion, the sloping roof line as Healey Rick's pic does have potential. But as you can see from the side profile, it has a very slightly 'heavy' with an elongated appearance. And the heavy look could be the result of the fender curve designs as they currently exist.
Maybe just adding some accents like what the Vette had or include subtle vent cutouts like the mustang fastbacks could make it more interesting. Otherwise, I tend to believe one should just start all over again, from scratch, at the drawing board. Saying that is a good thing, too, for I believe Donald Healey did a fine job with this car. It really needs no refinement.
DerekJ
Luke Skywalker
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I have to disagree regarding the Coupe. The proportions aren’t quite right and the top appears too big for the rest of the car, I’ve seen this car several times in the flesh. However, it is a real car not a photoshop and I suspect the issue as mentioned above, is one of headroom and that is what dictated the Coupe lines. The photoshop car, which looks great, is probably not useable if it were built as drawn.
OP
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To start with, I didn't do the photoshop, I found it on Facebook with no attribution of the artist. If you look closely, it's totally impractical. Consider what a BJ8 top looks like and the bump that's over where the driver's head is for clearance and compare the angle of this fastback. Probably suited for 5 footers or less. There was a similar fastback offered at one time by both Acme and Kellison but you can see that the top extends out horizontally before sloping downwards, rather than as sharply as the photoshop.
Living in the Northeast, I sometimes I think of my "dream Healey" that would be a closed fastback with
great heating, defrosting and air conditioning. The interior would be done in high-end leather, much like the Eagle E-Type GT:https://www.eaglegb.com/52/jaguar-e-type-special-editions/eagle-low-drag-gt/outcome
And it would probably include some kind of modern fuel-injected V8 while I'm at it
Living in the Northeast, I sometimes I think of my "dream Healey" that would be a closed fastback with
great heating, defrosting and air conditioning. The interior would be done in high-end leather, much like the Eagle E-Type GT:https://www.eaglegb.com/52/jaguar-e-type-special-editions/eagle-low-drag-gt/outcome
And it would probably include some kind of modern fuel-injected V8 while I'm at it
GregW
Yoda
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The way to make this design work is to scale the entire car up. Since the "Big Healey" is still pretty small, it could be brought up in size a bit without making it look like a land yacht. Smokey Yunick made a 7/8th scale race car that took a while for people to notice.
OP
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Me To. I like them both but I would choose this one first.
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From an upcoming interview, in HEALEY MARQUE magazine, of a Donald Healey Motor Company apprentice from 1966 to 1968:
"Favourite Healey? The Austin Healey 3000. I still yearn to own a 3000 and maybe one day I will, although the way that they are increasing in price they are becoming more difficult to purchase. There was a car that Geoff Healey used quite regularly which was an Austin Healey 3000 GT, I believe there was only ever one of those made and it was a bit like an MG GT. It had a fastback on it so it was a hardtop fastback and was painted in ice-blue, you know the classic ice-blue with red leather interior. He used that quite a lot which meant that I did also. It was quite often the car I would drive when returning back to Warwick after dropping Margot’s car at Barford after servicing."
Actually there were two 3000 coupes. The owner lived (lives?) in the Midlands. John Wheatley took me there over 30 years ago on one of my visits to meet the owner and photograph the cars. John hinted that the owner had turned down all kinds of offers to purchase them, and I took it to mean that I should refrain from embarrassing us both by trying to buy one of them. However, we were in no danger of my making such an offer as I am sure that price would have been well above anything my Army salary could cover, even then, and they're likely worth much more now.
Unfortunately the evening was rainy and so the owner declined to remove them from the driveway, so my pictures weren't worth publishing. I forget the owner's name, but he is (was?) well known and perhaps someone here will know him. It would be easy to rediscover the name. I think it's even in one of more of the books on Healeys.
I haven't heard anything about those cars in a very long time. Now that the subject has come up, it has me wondering what their status is. I'll make an inquiry and report back if I find out anything interesting.
"Favourite Healey? The Austin Healey 3000. I still yearn to own a 3000 and maybe one day I will, although the way that they are increasing in price they are becoming more difficult to purchase. There was a car that Geoff Healey used quite regularly which was an Austin Healey 3000 GT, I believe there was only ever one of those made and it was a bit like an MG GT. It had a fastback on it so it was a hardtop fastback and was painted in ice-blue, you know the classic ice-blue with red leather interior. He used that quite a lot which meant that I did also. It was quite often the car I would drive when returning back to Warwick after dropping Margot’s car at Barford after servicing."
Unfortunately the evening was rainy and so the owner declined to remove them from the driveway, so my pictures weren't worth publishing. I forget the owner's name, but he is (was?) well known and perhaps someone here will know him. It would be easy to rediscover the name. I think it's even in one of more of the books on Healeys.
I haven't heard anything about those cars in a very long time. Now that the subject has come up, it has me wondering what their status is. I'll make an inquiry and report back if I find out anything interesting.